One vulnerable Republican incumbent senator can read the way the blue state polling winds are blowing, and is breaking from the rest of the party over blocking President Obama's eventual Supreme Court nominee.
"I also recognize my duty as a senator to either vote in support or opposition to that nominee following a fair and thorough hearing along with a complete and transparent release of all requested information," Kirk wrote in a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed.
Kirk, who is from Obama's home state, added that it is the "right of the president" to nominate someone to the Supreme Court, but that he hopes the president names someone who can "bridge differences" and "find common ground." "Such a selection by the president would demonstrate a break from the rancor and partisanship of Washington and a real commitment to a new beginning even as his own term nears its end," he added.
Being from Obama's home state is certainly a factor, since the president is from there and chances are pretty good that the unprecedented obstruction of this president's nominee will not be a particularly popular thing. It's been a while since any polling was done in Illinois, but the last time PPP checked in last summer, it wasn't looking good for Kirk. At all. He had a 42 disapproval rate, with just 25 percent approval.
Kirk doesn't stand entirely alone. Maine Republican Susan Collins says "it's clear that the president can send up a nominee—regardless of where he is before he leaves office," and that the Senate "should follow the regular order and give careful consideration to any nominee that the president may send to the Senate." Note, she stops short of calling for hearings and a vote, leaving it at "regular order." That gives her wiggle room to not fight back too hard when Mitch McConnell decides to entirely ignore the nominee.
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